Pre-, Pro-, and post-biotics are relatively new terms used to describe a range of materials that have demonstrated benefits in human health. Typically, the term prebiotic refers to a material that stimulates the growth and/or activity of bacteria in the digestive system resulting in beneficial health effects. Prebiotics may be selectively fermented or non-fermented ingredients that allow specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microflora, which confer health benefits upon the host. Probiotics generally refer to microorganisms that contribute to intestinal microbial balance which in turn play a role in maintaining health. Many species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) such as, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are generally considered as Probiotics, but some species of Bacillus, and some yeasts have also been found as suitable candidates. Post-biotics refer to non-viable bacterial products or metabolic by products from probiotic organisms that have biologic activity in the host.
The use of Probiotics to improve human and/or animal health is well documented in the literature. In addition, prebiotics and postbiotics offer potential alternatives or adjunctive therapies to the use of live microorganisms and their metabolites. The mechanisms by which these materials beneficially affect human/animal health are typically divided into one of two general categories. The first, modulation of the immune response, and second, antagonism of pathogens either by the production of antimicrobial compounds or through competition for mucosal binding sites. This leads to a suppression of pathogen growth or epithelial binding and hence reduces invasion by pathogenic bacteria and improves the bioavailability and absorption of nutrients, and acts as nutritional intervention in human health.
There is an increasing appreciation of the impact of pre-, pro-, and postbiotics on the modulation of the immune response, more specifically their role in modulating the expression of cytokines that regulate inflammatory responses which can be measured at a local and systemic level. The ingestion of probiotic bacteria, for example, can potentially stabilize the immunologic barrier in the gut mucosa by reducing the generation of local pro-inflammatory cytokines. Alteration of the properties of the indigenous microflora by probiotic therapy has been shown to reverse some immunologic disturbances in acute syndromes such as dysbiosis, one of the most common disorders of the digestive system, and mitigate some chronic conditions characteristic of Crohn's disease, food allergy, and atopic eczema. Several probiotic species or their postbiotic products induce protective cytokines, including IL-10 and TGF-beta, and suppress pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF, in the mucosa of healthy patients, patients with inflammatory bowel disease and mouse models. Although there is suggestive evidence for each of these claims, the molecular details behind these mechanisms remains almost entirely undetermined.
Primary clinical interest in the application of probiotics has been in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases including bacterial and viral associated diarrhea. The use of probiotics for control of chronic inflammatory diseases such as pouchitis and ulcerative colitis has also received considerable attention. Moreover, the consumption of pre-, pro- and postbiotics has been linked to the improvement of a wide variety of health conditions, including high cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis and lactose intolerance.
Despite the growing literature on the benefits of various “biotic” therapies, the beneficial effects of combined pre-, pro-, and postbiotic therapies is less well documented. There remains need for therapeutic compositions combining these therapies to provide a range of health benefits.